Adam Carroll, the former Liberal party staffer behind the Vikileaks30 Twitter account that revealed unflattering details about Safety Minister Vic Toews' past, is being summoned to appear before a Commons committee this week — and only a doctor’s note will get him off the hook

OTTAWA — Adam Carroll, the former Liberal party staffer behind the Vikileaks30 Twitter account that revealed unflattering details about Safety Minister Vic Toews’ past, is being summoned to appear before a Commons committee this week — and only a doctor’s note will get him off the hook.

The House of Commons ethics committee voted behind closed doors to summon Carroll to appear before the committee on Thursday.

Carroll was expected to testify before the committee on Tuesday about his use of House of Commons resources to run the VikiLeaks account that tweeted details of Toews’ divorce and subsequent family drama.

However, a letter from Carroll’s lawyer to the committee said Carroll was not well enough to testify.

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Conservative MP Dean Del Mastro, who has led the charge to have Carroll testify before the committee, said the summons could only be set aside if Carroll’s doctor said his health prevented him from appearing.

After the meeting, Del Mastro wouldn’t answer questions about what health issue may prevent Carroll from speaking to the ethics committee.

The decision to haul Carroll before the committee took place in secret, after Conservatives on the committee used their majority to hold debate behind closed doors.

Carroll was working in the Liberal research bureau when he set up the Vikileaks30 account.

Carroll created the Twitter account after Toews suggested in the Commons that opposing Bill C-30 was akin to siding with child pornographers.

He then began tweeting portions of Toews’ divorce proceedings along with details of Toews publicly available expense reports.

The Liberals have said Carroll has apologized for his role in the VikiLeaks account and has resigned from his job.

House of Commons Speaker Andrew Scheer ruled the VikiLeaks Twitter account was an “unacceptable use of House IT resources,” but considered the matter closed after interim Liberal leader Bob Rae made a public apology to Toews.

Carroll, however, was not alone in waging an online war against Toews.

International hacker group Anonymous took up the cause, releasing a video defending Carroll and threatening to divulge even more embarrassing information about the minister.

“The Liberal party has either fired or forced out the individual behind the Vikileaks account, despite the fact that they committed no crime, in a shameful act of political cowardice,” says a computer-generated female voice in the video.

“Fellow Canadians, our own government is attempting to intimidate its citizens from not engaging in legal forms of protest by using their power to have them forced from their jobs and called before parliamentary committees.”

A House Committee said last week it would investigate that and other videos posted by Anonymous targeting Toews. The videos, House Speaker Andrew Scheer said, may have constituted a breach of Toews’ privilege as a minister.

“Those who enter political life fully expect to be held accountable for their actions — to their constituents, and to those who are concerned with the issues and initiatives they may advocate,” Mr. Scheer said in making his ruling in the House of Commons.

“However, when duly-elected (MPs) are personally threatened for their work in Parliament — whether introducing a bill, making a statement, or casting a vote, this House must take the matter very seriously.”

Not content to await the results of the parliamentary probe, though, Toews took to Twitter himself to attack opposition MPs after being given access to view the records of who had accessed his 2007 divorce records.

“It seems @PaulDewar MB organizer Thomas Linner was sent to collect dirt on my divorce records,” Toews wrote on Twitter last Thursday.

It seems @PaulDewar MB organizer Thomas Linner was sent to collect dirt on my divorce records.

“@PatMartinMP then confirmed that federal NDP wanted the documents,” he said on Twitter. “Now @CharlieAngusMP & NDP are delaying #ETHI study of Vikileaks.” And, a few minutes later: “We know the Libs used public resources for dirty tricks. What are the NDP also hiding?”

Martin was quick to respond, claiming “Toews is misrepresenting what I explained to him yesterday. We had nothing to do with [Viki]Leaks and I’d rather not know his personal life.”

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